Evan Longoria Allegedly Leaks Dirty Picture Online

Evan Longoria, the 3rd baseman of the Tampa Bay Rays, is an All-Star on the field and just can be the best at his position given that Mike Schmidt and George Brett. This can possibly be attributed to his highly marketable combination of ability and good looks, both of which have made him an in-demand product endorser. But that popularity might sink down just a bit if the Barstool Sports blog post “Hey Evan Longoria; Stop Sending Me Pictures of Your @$&%…Sincerely Jenna” is true.

Article Resource: Evan Longoria allegedly leaks dirty picture online By Personal Money Store

Evan Longoria allegedly stalked Jenna on Facebook

Jenna, who Barstool doesn’t identify further, claims that Evan Longoria found her Facebook account a few years ago “via Internet stalking” (something this cash advance loans portal assures its customers it will never do to them) and struck up a chat. After a when, says Jenna, the Rays 3rd sacker sent her a nude photo of himself that showed only his lower half. Supposedly, Longoria’s note that accompanied the photo read “Like that, babe”? Jenna didn’t mince words with her reply: “If I wanted to see gross (expletive) d!@$#, I would spend my entire (expletive) day on Chat Roulette”.

Evan Longoria had just been named Cape League MVP

Evan Longoria was already forging a trail before he hit the big time. Apparently the minor league credentials, comfortably anonymous photography and witty repartee weren’t enough to charm Miss Jenna. On Barstool, she writes that the whole sordid affair “isn’t as entertaining as I would like it to be.

What’s with the timing, Jenna?

An easy guess would be that you are a staffer for Boston-based Barstool Sports (possibly not even female) and you also want to shake up the Rays so that the Boston Red Sox could have an easier time of catching them within the AL East. The story you give is that naughty online photos came up as office conversation, and you claimed you’d received just such a photo from Evan Longoria. Judging by the tone of her Barstool Sports post, she is less than enthused by the whole concept. Athletes and other celebrities should come away from this with the knowledge that sending those kind of pictures through cyberspace never turns out well. It’ll be interesting to see if this causes a spike within the sale of the MLB 2k10 video game, for which Evan Longoria is a cover model.

Will the Interstate Highway system be killed by the electric car?

As The United States shifts increasingly toward electric cars and efficiency standards that require that all autos to achieve 35 mpg or better, there may be a hidden peril lurking for the Interstate Highway System. As Keith Crain points out in a recent op-ed piece for Automotive News, the funding mechanism for building the IHS – the Highway Trust Fund – depends heavily upon gasoline tax. More tax dollars are funneled to the Highway Trust Fund as drivers consumer more gasoline. The new breed of efficient internal combustion and electronic automobiles will require less gasoline for operation. Thus, Crain calls for Congress to find choice means of maintaining the Highway Trust Fund.

Article Resource: Will the electric car kill the Interstate Highway System?

The Interstate Highway System stimulus for a short term

During President Dwight Eisenhower’s administration, the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 (which established the Interstate Highway System) was a landmark public works law. The network of highways is nevertheless the largest system of its kind within the world, and the ways in which it has furthered commerce, travel and defense in The United States can’t be discounted. Sadly, lawmakers at the time weren't able to predict how much money would be needed to maintain the IHS. Through various means, Congress has found solutions to keep the Highway Trust Fund operational after its key provisions to back up the IHS had initially expired. Yet these efforts have only kept things going within the short term. President Obama’s green initiatives may look good on paper, especially considering expansions of green public transportation, but transitioning the American public to using public transport rather than private cars for daily tasks may be ! a difficult goal.

The Highway Trust Fund debate is complicated

C-Span posted a three-plus hour debate on funding the highway system. Part of the problem, as outlined by Senators Tom Coburn and John McCain, is that Congress too often “raids the cookie jar,” taking money out of the Highway Trust Fund in order to finance unrelated pet projects. Ray Lahood, Transportation Secretary, proposed a tax on car miles traveled (VMT) to make up for gas tax shortages. According to the Washington Post, this idea is quite unpopular because numerous fear that the government will use mileage counters to monitor drivers.

Where will the money come from?

Nobody has agreed on any one answer. Crain suggests that Congress seriously consider solutions right now, instead of waiting until the last moment and deciding hastily. The number of hybrid automobiles on America's roads grew by about 1.6 million according to a 2009 study published by Tobbits.com. If the trend continues, the Interstate Highway System and Highway Trust Fund difficulties will only increase.

Sources

American Trails

The Washington Post

Law And Order Gets No New Order For Episodes

The original Law and Order has been canceled after two decades. After 20 years of filming and taking place in New York City, the show that began it all is getting canceled. After this season wraps, that will be it as outlined by producer Dick Wolf. This fall, a new spin off will debut and the other spin off shows can be sticking around as well. So despite the original show ending, syndication and a brand new spin-off mean the makers of the show won't hurt for instant cash.

Article Source: Law and Order has been canceled By Personal Money Store

Law and Order takes cue from the Dodgers

It was announced that though Law and Order the original is facing the firing squad, hope springs eternal. A new Law and Order series, taking place in Los Angeles, will debut this fall according to the New York Times. Just as the Dodgers did, the New York offices are closed and they’re headed for California. Despite its near institutional status, and producer Dick Wolf's known desire to beat Gunsmoke as the longest-running prime time drama, the show is still going to the metaphorical gallows.

Spin offs in abundance

Law and Order is the king of all series producing spin offs. There is Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Law and Order: UK and now Law and Order: Los Angeles. There were others that did not fare also. There are rumors that a movie may be in the works and that the show is being sued by Chuck Norris, as Law and Order are the trademarked names of his left and right boots.

Other shows that got the axe

There were other cancellations for this year. Both smash success shows Lost and 24 were cut. The Ghost Whisperer will now become a ghost itself, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and Numb3rs aren't being renewed, among others.

More details on this topic

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/arts/television/15law.html?pagewanted=1

Lindsay Lohan gets ankle bracelet that tracks alcohol

The Lindsay Lohan ankle bracelet will be an everyday accessory for LiLo for a while. According to Associated Press reports, Lohan has been ordered by a Beverly Hills Court to wear a position- and blood alcohol-tracking SCRAM bracelet (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring)}. It will inform the court and Lindsay Lohan’s parole officer as to her location at all times and monitor her blood alcohol level via her perspiration.

Article Source: Court slaps Lindsay Lohan with ankle bracelet that tracks alcohol By Personal Money Store

How does the ankle bracelet work on Lindsay Lohan?

The Associated Press indicates that the Lindsay Lohan SCRAM ankle bracelet has been in use by courts for a couple of years. Instead of detecting alcohol through an exhalation, the SCRAM bracelet can detect the presence of alcohol in a person’s sweat as it checks every half hour, and there is no amount of same day payday loans will get LiLo out of having to wear it. Findings are recorded and sent when the perpetrator connects to phone lines to file their daily report. If .02 blood-alcohol level or higher is detected, the authorities are alerted. At that level, all it takes are two 5-ounce drinks in an hour on an empty stomach for a 180-pound man, says Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc. Considering Lindsay Lohan’s hard-partying ways and skinny body (plus the exercise she gets allegedly stalking Samantha Ronson and courting Indrani the photographer), it won’t take much alcohol to send the police running to LiLo.

The problem won't stop just because parents use SCRAM

Right now, SCRAM bracelets are only available in courts. They’ve been in use in every state in America except Hawaii and perpetrators use them an average of 90 days, according to the AP. All bracelets like these cost about $ 1,500. That’s certainly worth keeping naughty celebs like Lindsay Lohan, Andy Dick, Eve and Michelle Rodriguez in line, and it also gives people a better option than spending time in jail. Imagine what might happen to LiLo if she was in jail … where would she possibly get the mysterious white powder that she keeps in her shoes?

Here’s a downer – You can’t jam the SCRAM with chicken skin

The Alcohol Monitoring Systems Inc says that there have been some who tried to throw off the SCRAM scanner by stuffing chicken skin between the ankle and the bracelet. That doesn't work and if it is tampered with more than that, then the offender is thrown into jail.

Citations

AP story

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jrun3-BFJ98LFrwQuNtMaOIdMlAQD9FTSTFO0

Allieiswired.com

http://allieiswired.com/archives/2010/04/lindsay-lohan-leggings/

The PacMan 30th Anniversary

May 22, 1980 marked the release of one of one of the most legendary video games of all time, and May 22, 2010, will be the Pac-Man 30th anniversary. It’s one of probably the most popular video games ever released. The Pac Man game is one of the 3 video games in the Smithsonian Institute. Google put a playable PacMan free online game on its homepage.

Article Resource: May 22 is Pac-Man arcade game 30th anniversary By Personal Money Store

Google marks PacMan 30th anniversary

A PacMan display was used for the Google logo on the homepage, called a Google Doodle. Oh, and you also can play the game too. It really plays. Check out the search bar, you’ll see a button reading Insert Coin. Click on that, and you can play PacMan until the cows come home, without needing money now for a video game site subscription or more quarters.

PacMan is now 30

The original release, according to the Pac Man wiki, was May 22, 1980 in Japan. It was designed by Toru Iwatani, during his time at Namco Games. (On a sad note, he received no compensation or bonuses for coming up with one of probably the most popular video games of all time.) Asteroids or Galaga type video games were the most popular at the time, and he set out to create an alternative. The game was a near instant hit, and it was picked up by Midway Games soon after for distribution within the US. The horizontal Pac Man table is still a highly sought after collector's item.

Play Pac Man

Obviously, there's the free version of the game on the Google homepage. You can also discover numerous free Pac Man games online. There’s an Apple app, that you can download PacMan with for the iPod Touch, iPhone, and probably the iPad. It is a legendary video game, and it is nevertheless pretty fun to play.

Find a lot more info on this topic

Pacman wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man

Low Effectiveness And High Cost Mar Ampyra Release

Ampyra is the first and, thus far, only drug that is intended to help MS patients walk. Marketing claims from Acroda Theraputics say that the drug is “very effective”. The effectiveness of Ampyra has been questioned both before and after its release into the general U.S. market.

How Ampyra is used

The brand name for Fampridine sustained release pills is Ampyra. The drug works by blocking some potassium receptors, which restores impulses between nerves. MS patients were not the original target of Ampyra – it was first studied for use with spinal cord injuries. The annual cost of Ampyra is about $ 10,000 to $ 15,000 a year. That is a cost that goes above and beyond the no faxing payday loans many patients could qualify for – so what are the risks and rewards of the drug?

What Ampyra is used for

Ampyra is a drug that has shown to help improve walking speed in MS patients. Ampyra works for only about thirty-five percent of patients who take it. The original studies used by Acorda Theraputics to get the drug approved relied on twice-a-day doses. Ampyra in the United States is sold as a single-dose, sustained-release drug. Ampyra is supposed to be used as an extra treatment on top of other MS drugs.

The numbers behind Ampyra

The percentages behind Ampyra’s effectiveness are statistically significant- but only by the slimmest of margins. The speed of walking for patients who took Ampyra did improve in the double-blind study. By measuring how fast patients walked 25 feet, researchers found Ampyra improved those speeds by between half and three quarters of a second. While this is a statistically significant improvement, it is only barely so. If an MS patient is declining in ability to walk, though, then this less-than-a-second improvement could mean the world.

The side effects of Ampyra

There are significant side effect warnings with Ampyra. Patients reported infection, insomnia, and dizziness quite often. Patients who took Ampyra experienced relapses in symptoms twice as often as patients taking a placebo. Fampridine was originally developed as a bird poison, and it has also been shown to cause severe seizures if one takes twice the recommended dose.

What Ampyra’s sales look like

Acordia reported $ 3.4 million in sales for Ampyra. The first packages of the drug were sent to pharmacies on March 1. About 2,000 prescriptions for Ampyra were written between March 1 and April 29. Many patients are now wondering if the health care costs of Ampyra are, on balance, worth the 35 percent chance they might walk a tiny bit faster.

U2 360 tour postponed by Bono’s back surgery

A severe injury during rehearsal for their U2 360 tour has sent Bono into emergency spinal surgery. Because the emergency surgery was so severe, the U2 360 tour has been postponed. The U2 360 tour will be rescheduled as soon as Bono can perform again.

Resource for this article: U2 Bono – Back surgery postpones U2 360 tour By Personal Money Store

U2 360 tour rehearsal where Bono was injured

U2 has been rehearsing for the U2 360 tour in Germany. Golden-Globe-nominated frontman Bono severely injured his back during last week's rehearsal. The release from U2 Bono's doctors say that the singer has “suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve … a serious tear in the ligament, and a herniated disc.” Before his emergency surgery, Bono was also suffering from partial paralysis in his legs.

U2 Tour, U2 360 postponed

Because of Bono's injury, the U2 360 tour has been postponed. Even though they used pay day loan to ensure they got U2 360 tickets, millions of fans will now have to wait to see Bono. The U2 360 concert is being rescheduled by LiveNation for sometime in 2011, and ticketholders will most likely be able to exchange their tickets. If the concerts were to be canceled, U2 and LiveNation could easily be out hundreds of millions of dollars. The U2 tour stop at the Glastonbury music festival has also been canceled.

Bono, U2 tour, back on the road ASAP

The U2 360 concert organizers have been personally contacted, in some cases, by Bono himself. In his conversation with the head of the Glastonbury Festival, Bono said he was “heartbroken.” The doctors treating Bono have said the tour will not go on until Bono has recovered. Bono will have to take it easy in order to avoid becoming fully paralyzed. Full updates on the status of U2, Bono and the U2 tour are being offered on U2.com.

Make a reservation for your free Chick-Fil-A Spicy Chicken Reservations

Does a free Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich sound like a good deal? If you get a reservation, then you can get a free Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich. Getting your free Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich involves first getting an invitation from the company. Getting an invitation means that you can get Chick-Fil-A spicy chicken sandwich a few days before it goes on the official menu.

Article Source: Make your Chick-fil-A Spicy chicken reservations

What's the story of the spicy chicken sandwich

Intended for a full roll-out on June 7, the spicy chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A will be available only for "limited preview tastings" for the week beforehand. Getting your free spicy chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A starts by going to GetSpicyChicken.com . Once you've made your reservation, print out the invitation and take it to your specified Chick-fil-A before June 5.

No chance to invest in Chick-fil-A

The Chick-fil-A company has been around since the 1940s and has been known as Chick-fil-A since the 1960s. Since the inception of the company, it has been privately held. The company has said no to offers of payday cash advances from investors as knowledgeable as Warren Buffet in order to stay private. The company's revenue in 2009 was over $ 3 billion, so the family is definitely doing well.

Chick-Fil-A reservation system not working perfectly

Some people trying to make reservations for the free spicy chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A have been encountering problems on Monday morning. With hundreds of thousands of people trying to get their reservations in, the website appears to not be operating correctly. Rather than a free-for-all, Chick-fil-A is using the reservations to avoid a KFC-like disaster . If the website doesn't function well soon, though, customers could get angry at Chick-Fil-A.

What the secret of Chick-Fil-A's chicken is

The spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A will most likely be a standard Chick-Fil-A sandwich with spicy breading. The Chick-fil-A thick, juicy sandwich is made by high-pressure frying the chicken. This high-pressure method is now used in most grocery store delis as well.

Simon Monjack, Brittany Murphy’s husband, dead at 39

At the age of 39 and just five months after Brittany Murphy's death, her husband died. Simon Monjack, a screenwriter with credits that incorporated the 2006 Sienna Miller film “Factory Girl” and the independent feature “Two Days, Nine Lives,” was found dead in hist master bedroom of his home within the Hollywood Hills. No signs of foul play were detected, and authorities believe Monjack died of a heart attack. E! News reports that various prescription medications were recovered at the scene, nevertheless.

Article Source~Article Resource~Source for this article~Resource for this article: Simon Monjack, Brittany Murphy's husband, dead at 39

Dead of 'natural causes' is Simon Monjack

As outlined by E! News Brittany Murphy’s mother Sharon made the 911 call that brought paramedics to the home she nevertheless shared with son-in-law Simon Monjack. Sharon was the one who’d called 911 to bring aid for her ailing daughter during her final hours of life. Just as Brittany Murphy’s reason for death was determined to be a result of combining incompatible prescription medications, there is some speculation that Simon Monjack is dead for a reason that is comparable. Until after the autopsy results, authorities will stick with the "natural causes" story.

Brittany Murphy’s death was ruled accidental

Murphy’s cases of pneumonia and anemia and the combination of drugs she was on was simply too much for her system to manage. Most of those prescription drugs really belonged to her husband. Authorities who were at the scene of the Brittany Murphy investigation back in December 2009 found Monjack to be a “despondent husband” doing all he could to help hold his family together during a difficult time. Now, as Brittany Murphy’s husband is dead, the tragedy continues for the family.

Big events occurring before Brittany Murphy's husband's death

In the months between Brittany Murphy’s death and Monjack’s death, the screenwriter had a run-in with tax authorities that may have prompted him to put Brittany Murphy’s Hollywood Hills home up for sale. E! News reports that Simon Monjack had attempted to raise funds for the Brittany Murphy Foundation, but he did so without contacting the IRS beforehand to get nonprofit status. Monjack had to return all donations he'd received and the Foundation was closed.

A Brief Memorial Day History Lesson

Good morning campers; it's almost Memorial Day and some of you, no doubt, are wondering just exactly what is Memorial Day history. Things like where, how, and when it was started, and the way it became official and so on. In advance of when we all pack up and leave for Grandma’s house, off to the lake or river, or just get away from it all, here’s the 411 on Memorial Day.

Article Source: A Brief Memorial Day History Lesson By Personal Money Store

The Civil War ends and begins Memorial Day history

It wasn't actually called Memorial Day at first. The exact first observance is a matter of debate, but what is known is that right after the conclusion of the Civil War, which certain states haven’t received the memo about yet, days of remembrance were observed by decorating the graves of the fallen. It was called Decoration Day at first, which isn’t the most clever of names. (We have the most drab names for holidays in this country. Maybe some cash until payday for a study group to come up with better names would be in order.)

Veterans get involved

Two Army Generals, John Murray and John Logan took note of an observance of Decoration Day on May 5, 1866 in Waterloo, New York. John Logan, as it turns out, was the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Civil War veterans. (It became the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War later.) On May 5, 1868, they announced that on May 30 they would observe a Decoration Day, and urged others to do the same. The Southern states usually weren’t receptive as they had a significant case of sour grapes.

Memorial Day becomes official

Memorial Day didn’t get declared an official holiday until 1967. To make things easier for everyone, Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which fixed Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Columbus Day, and Washington’s Birthday, later to become Presidents Day, on specified Mondays. Ever since then, veterans groups have been trying to get Congress to move it back to May 30 because Mondays are pretty hard to find on calendars. Memorial Day 2010, will fall on May 31.

Read more on this topic here

Memorial Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day

Kindle For Android Takes On IPhone - Is Android Tablet Next?

Kindle is going Android, Amazon has announced. Amazon is teaming up with Google to give the iPhone a run for its money in e-reader functionality. Amazon already offers Kindle software for the iPhone, the iPad, Windows, Mac OS X and BlackBerry devices. The Android already sells Amazon streaming moves and music with built in apps. Except that it took so long to happen, Kindle on the Android isn't any kind of surprise. Some say an Android tablet might be next.

Source for this article: Kindle for Android takes on iPhone – Is Android tablet next By Personal Money Store

Downloads for Android Kindle

Kindle for Android has downloads that are a key advantage. Fortune reports that Google’s Android environment, as open as no fax payday loans no credit check compared to Apple’s community, allows continuous Kindle for Android downloads. Into Android the Kindle bookstore was built by Amazon into seamlessly. Kindle books can be read on iPhone, but when users want to purchase an Amazon book on an iPhone, they have to do a lot of work in getting it. Only then is the purchase transferred wirelessly to the iPhone.

IPhone Kindle

Apple forces a workaround because it doesn't allow in app purchases through an iPhone from anyone besides apple. Amazon could sell e-books in Kindle for iPhone, but Apple takes a 30 percent cut. Android let Amazon build a storefront inside Kindle for Android, so Amazon can sell products directly, without Android users leaving Kindle.

Features of the Android Kindle

Kindle for Android could be used on Droid Incredible, Google Nexus One, Motorola CLIQ, Motorola Droid, HTC MyTouch, and most other Android phones. Users can buy e-books from the Kindle Store optimized for the Android phone with wireless delivery. Before buying a book, the beginning of it is accessible to try as a sample. Kindle blogs, newspapers, and magazines won't be available.

Is an Android tablet next?

Beginning May 19, the Kindle for Android announcement precedes the Google I/O conference. Clint Boulton at eWeek reports that most of the buzz leading up to the event centers totally on Android. One thing certain to launch at Google I/O is Android 2.2 which will give Kindle for Android a speed increase from previous operating systems. Google officials also want to talk about Android depending tablets. Verizon confirmed working with Google on Android based upon tablets.

Additional data at these websites

Fortune reports

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/05/18/kindle-android-app-goes-beyond-iphone

Clint Boulton at eWeek reports

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Mobile-and-Wireless/Android-22-Google-TV-Expected-at-Google-IO-This-Week-819819/

Deciphering Sidewall Graffiti - What Those Tire Codes Mean

Does sidewall graffiti on tires hold any secrets? Author Douglas Adams could be intrigued at the notion, but the truth is that tire codes just tell consumers about the tire’s wear, construction, size, and speed rating. Using the right size tires for your car is an essential part of getting probably the most from your vehicle and increasing mpg. Thanks to our friends at Edmunds, here’s your official cheat sheet for breaking down the mystery of the tire codes on your daily commuter or weekend joy-rider. You’ll have that sidewall graffiti figured out in no time and only have to worry about coming to Car Deal Expert the next time you are in need of automobile loan.

Article Source: Deciphering sidewall graffiti – What those tire codes mean?

If your tires could talk – sidewall graffiti

Let’s use this tire code as our sample -205/55R 16 89V. Let's see how this would break down:

• First 205 – Which measures the millimeter distance between sidewall edges, this is the tire's section width. The bigger the number, the fatter the tire.
• Second there's 55 – The aspect ratio that compares section height to width. In this case, the section (or sidewall) height is 55 percent of the section width. The lower the number, the shorter the sidewall meaning improved handling.
• Third R – This is the tire’s construction, in this case radial. Radial has been the standard for the past 20 years, but certain trucks still use the exact same old bias-play construction.
• Fourth 16 ­– In inches, this is the rim diameter. If you choose to buy new tires, this number will nevertheless have to match.
• 89 – This is the load index, which is translatable via the Maximum Load-Carrying Capacity Per Tire chart. Here, “89″ equates to 1,279 pounds (580 kilograms) per tire. Get the total weight capacity of a set of tires by multiplying the weight by four.
• Sixth V – This is the speed rating, which tells you maximum recommended speed a tire is designed to accept over an extended period of time. With "V" a car can go 149 mph for a time frame. Your tires might explode if you go over that a lot more than a couple of minutes. For different speed codes, see the link at the bottom of the article.

Other things to consider in your sidewall graffiti

Edmunds suggests that there may be other information, such as a DOT (Department of Transportation) number that helps the DOT track production numbers within the case of a recall. A being the best, a traction rating of A, B, or C might available as well. You might see the word "TREADWEAR" with the numbers 180 or 120 along the side. Standard is 100 meaning 180 can maintain tread for 80 percent longer. Other scales may be used, but in general, if the number is high instead of low, tread life can be longer.

Citations

Douglas Adams

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Adams

Edmunds

http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/43859/article.html

radial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radial_tire

Maximum Load-Carrying Capacity Per Tire

http://www.kaltire.com/retail/about_your_tires/loadchart.php

speed codes, see the link at the bottom of the article

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=35

Bangkok Curfew Put In Pace By Officials

As violence and unrest continue in Bangkok, the government has imposed a curfew. Worse may come if Thailand doesn’t have some type of order restored. The anti-government Red Shirt protesters are not giving up, and violence is beginning to escalate. Foreign governments are beginning to urge their citizens not to travel there if possible.

Resource for this article: Bangkok curfew imposed as violence and fires rage in Thailand

Bangkok protester camp raided

The damage that has been done will take a lot more than a little money now to undo and restore order and confidence in leadership among the citizens. According to the Christian Science Monitor, troops from the Thai military entered an encampment of anti-government protesters. A curfew was imposed for Bangkok as well as other areas in Thailand soon after. As soon as government troops had taken over the camp, leaders of the Red Shirt protesters announced they would surrender to stay away from further violence and bloodshed. Further rioting started, and numerous buildings were set on fire.

Advisory issued to British in Thailand

According to the BBC, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued an advisory to all subjects of the Crown in Thailand. The violence in Bangkok forced the British Embassy to close on May 14. Any Britons in Bangkok or in Thailand are advised to stay indoors and not to travel within the country, or if they must to do so after curfew hours to ensure safety and to carry all appropriate identification and paperwork with them. Thai officials said travel after curfew hours will be fine if all passports and appropriate paperwork are on hand and people are cooperative with police and military checkpoints.

Further unrest

After the camp of Red Shirts was raided, fires broke out which emergency services had difficulty getting to. The current government is not very popular, and Red Shirts are calling and demonstrating for an urgent new election. This could take awhile to resolve.

Read more on this topic here

Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0519/Clashes-fires-roil-Bangkok-despite-red-shirt-protest-leaders-surrender

BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8693122.stm

Making A Point About Free Speech With Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

Thanks to Facebook fame, May 20 is the pseudo-official "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day". There are lots of odd holidays out there – some official and some not. Some see this web meme a harmless way to spark debate. However, Everyone Draw Mohammed Day runs the risk of building more anger than understanding.

Article Resource: Everybody Draw Mohammed Day – Making a free speech point By Personal Money Store

The events that spurred Everyone Draw Mohammed Day

The essential questions that lie behind Everybody Draw Mohammed Day have been building for years. The Muslim religion has a specific ban on images of the prophet Mohammed. The controversy over non-Muslims drawing the prophet really began in about 2005, when a Danish newspaper printed 12 images of Mohammed. Most recently, the creators of “South Park” have faced death threats for their episode that satirizes the prohibition on showing Mohammed. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of lawsuits and a couple of hundred deaths are blamed on the controversy and the surrounding riots. Rather than get quick cash to hide from the threats or hire bodyguards, numerous people are facing the threats head-on.

The point of Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

On April 23, Everyone Draw Mohammed Day was announced on the Portland Mercury site. This "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" was created as a way to respond to the death threats against "South Park" creators. According to the Facebook page created for Everybody Draw Mohammed Day, the creators are hoping to "spark significant debate in international forums.”

Results of Everyone Draw Mohammed Day

The popularity of Everyone Draw Mohammed Day has sparked reactions from a wide variety of organizations and people. For a short amount of time, Facebook did block access to the site, though it was eventually restored. In the United States, the majority are calling this day a way to celebrate free speech. Many groups focused on religious tolerance worry that this day could very easily mock all Muslims, not the intended extremist targets. In Pakistan, Facebook has been blocked until May 31 in response to Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.

Tell me your opinion? Is Everybody Draw Mohammed Day offensive and dangerous? Or is Everybody Draw Mohammed Day a way to spark debate and peacefully express free speech?

Daris Or Koli – Who will Take NBC.com Biggest Loser Vote?

"The Biggest Loser" this season is leaving the NBC.com Biggest Loser vote up to the fans of the show. The NBC.com Biggest Loser vote site can help NBC determine which competitor will be a part of the finale show next week. What is your opinion on this showdown? Daris or Koli?

Source for this article: NBC.com Biggest Loser Vote – Daris or Koli By Personal Money Store

Put your opinion in on the NBC.com Biggest Loser Vote website

You get to answer the question of who you think should win the quarter of a million dollar prize on NBC.com Biggest Loser vote. On the season finale show, May 25, this grand prize of $ 250,000 can be handed out, as well as a $ 100,000 “at home” prize – quite the no faxing payday loan for taking time off work and life to lose weight.

Get your opinion on NBC.com Biggest Loser vote

Voting on the Biggest Loser is only one reason the NBC.com site gets traffic for "The Biggest Loser". The TV show has spawned everything from workout videos to Biggest Loser recipes – bringing a lot more than $ 50 million in to NBC. While the weight loss industry brings in sixty billion dollars a year, fifty million is not any amount to be sniffed at.

Does "The Biggest Loser" go too far?

NBC.com Biggest Loser Vote asks for viewers of "The Biggest Loser" to help choose who gets to compete for the final prize on the TV show. "The Biggest Loser" has been seen as every little thing from helpful and encouraging to disheartening. The weight-loss strategies shown on the Biggest Loser are, to be put simply, not realistic. Competitors will cry over a gain of a single pound, and will go as far as severely dehydrating themselves for weigh-ins.

“The Biggest Loser” helps substantially overweight people lose weight, but it is far from healthy or truly realistic. Taking various months out of one’s life to lose weight is great, but not something most of us can do. Losing weight on your own is, simply, nothing like "The Biggest Loser". The secret doesn't lie with Jillian Michaels or Biggest Loser recipe books or Calorie Commando "secrets". Eat less than you work off. That really is all there is to it.

Read a lot more on this topic here

NBC.com Biggest Loser vote

http://www.nbc.com/the-biggest-loser/vote/register.shtml

Was Ken Griffey Hr. Asleep At The Ballpark?

Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. was rumored to have been asleep during a game, and that was the reason he was not used to pinch hit. The Mariners were, at the time, playing the Anaheim Angels on Saturday, and the Mariners ended up losing, 3-4. It has been denied by Griffey and Mariners' manager Don Wakamatsu . Hopefully that reporter didn't get a no faxing payday loans for the erroneous info.

Asleep at the game is Ken Griffey Jr.

On Saturday, the Seattle Mariners were playing the second of a three-game series against the Anaheim Angels, and supposedly Ken Griffey Jr. went into the locker room around the fifth inning According to the anonymous source, he was found two innings later within the clubhouse asleep. The original story ran Monday within the Tacoma Tribune and was written by Larry LaRue, quoting two anonymous Mariners players as his sources. It is denied by Wakamatsu, the mariners, and Ken Griffey Jr..

Others slept watching the game

Wakamatsu vehemently denied that it happened, and he has told the press the reason Griffey did not pinch hit was because he did not pick him to pinch hit, according to MLB.com. The Mariners lost anyway so evidently it didn't make a difference. They also lost to the Angels in the game before that. At 3-4, the game Saturday May 8 was actually the closest loss. The game before was a 0-8 shutout, but the Mariners actually fought back impressively on Sunday, May 9, in Anaheim, winning with 8-1. The Mariners are now at 13-19 for this season which isn't bad or good really.

Calls for retirement

Ken Griffey Jr. is no spring chicken. He is 40 although that doesn't mean he can't contribute. (Look at 40-year-old Brett Favre; last year he came within one game of the Super Bowl.) Last year, he had an average of .214 with 44 home runs and 57 RBIs. This year, his average is .200 with 5 runs and 5 RBIs so far. That isn't bad so maybe calls for retirement are a bit premature.

Resources for the article

MLB.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100511&content_id=9965914&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Privacy Concerns Cause A lot more Users To Delete Facebook Accounts

If you want to delete your Facebook, join the crowd. In April, Facebook began a program where they give out personal information, not only to friends, but to anybody who looks it up on the internet. Individuals appear to be more concerned about Facebook privacy issues and what Facebook is doing with their personal information. Web superstars, privacy advocates, and even politicians have announced that they will be deleting their Facebook accounts.

Individuals deleting Facebook accounts for privacy reasons

Unless they block it manually, personal info is now fair game, so people are deleting their Facebook accounts. Blogger Mat McKeon reports that when Facebook was founded, way back in 2005, it restricted a user’s personal data to just friends and their network. Over the past couple of years, the default Facebook privacy settings for a user’s personal data have become as permissive as installment payday loans. Now, everyone who wants to can see anything but your birthday and contact information. Facebook has also changed how your personal info is classified several times in ways that numerous users see as deliberately confusing.

Make sure to update your Facebook privacy settings

McKeon doesn't plan on deleting his Facebook account and doesn't suggest others do either. He identifies with Facebook’s effort to make money off the details it gathers by providing a free service. But he strongly advocates double and triple checking your privacy settings for a personal profile that could be revealing anything from where you live to the movies you like and the individuals you trust. The Wall Street Journal reports that some high-profile members of the tech community, like Google search-engine guru Matt Cutts and Engadget co-founder Peter Rojas, have announced in recent weeks that they were deactivating their Facebook accounts, a step that shuts down but doesn't delete the Facebook account totally.

How to permanently delete my Facebook account?

Permanently deleting your Facebook account won't be as simple as a click. Facebook makes it super easy to deactivate your account making your info temporarily unavailable. Apparently, according to wikiHow, finding the "permanent delete" option is much harder. This wikiHow article definitely answers the question: How do I delete my Facebook account forever?

Privacy difficulties with Facebook

A top Google search recently has been "delete Facebook account". As outlined by ABC News, the latest backlash began brewing after Facebook's developer conference that was a couple of weeks ago. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled various changes he said would make the Web more social and personalized by expanding Facebook’s presence to other websites. On thousands of sites a “social plug-in” will now let users “like” content and see what their Facebook friends have liked, directly from those sites.

Facebook privacy violations

Facebook now by default gives 3rd party companies access to members' names, hobbies, and friends lists. When a Facebook user logs onto any web site with the Facebook social plug-in, the content displayed is shaped by the personal information that was in their Facebook account, as well as the personal details of their friends. If you would like this feature to stop, a manual request is required.

Advocates of Facebook privacy

Powerful legislator is on the side of people who are upset about Facebook privacy policies. “With great power comes great responsibility, and sites like Facebook have great responsibility,” Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said at a news conference a week after Facebook’s announcements. “In my view, it ought to be the user who determines who gets what information, not Facebook.” Schumer asked the Federal Trade Commission to create some guidelines for Facebook and other social networks to follow.

Many delete Facebook account forever

Facebook hasn't done much to help its recent problem associated with privacy. In a Q and A session with readers of the New York Times, Elliot Schrage, Facebook's vice president for public policy, responded to privacy concerns by saying that participating in Facebook is "a choice." He said "Please don't share if you're not comfortable.". That advice is being taken by many.

Resources

Mat McKeon reports

http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/

Wall Street Journal reports

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/05/14/looking-to-delete-your-facebook-account-youre-not-alone/

YouCut Blends Social Networking And Government Finance

There’s a new project called YouCut. The idea is to alert voters to some of the spending cuts before Congress and get them to sound off about them. The originator of the project is House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va). Visitors can vote online or by text message on which cuts they think are best. Financial reform is a big issue, as the government may be running for some huge installment payday loans to keep up before long.

YouCut wants your input

When the government spends more than it earns, it is troublesome to numerous individuals, including Rep. Eric Cantor. He wants public input, so the site has gone up looking for people to sound off online (unfortunately for Luddites) as to what spending cuts they think are best. Five new spending cuts can be offered each week, and also you can determine which ones are the most egregious. Eric Cantor is the House Minority Whip, and he wants to hear from the public.

How does it work?

To vote, simply visit the YouCut website, part of Eric Cantor's Republican Whip website. Voting is done either online or by text message. You choose from 5 proposed spending cuts. You choose which of the 5 you think should be made. For now, there’s cuts to the Presidential Election Fund, taxpayer subsidies for federal employee union activities, HUD research grants, certain welfare programs, and Community Development and Block Grants to rich neighborhoods.

Not the worst idea

One of the awesome things about the internet is that individuals everywhere can connect and have their voices heard. Part of the horror of the internet is the ability for people everywhere to communicate and express their opinions. Government spending is a big issue these days, and it probably should be. It’s not as if it is all chump change. According to Reuters, the government just posted a deficit for the 19th month in a row.

Article resources

YouCut

http://www.republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64B53W20100512

Luddites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite

Tonya Craft Verdict - Teacher Cleared Of Molestation Charges

The Tonya Craft trial is now over. Tonya Craft, former kindergarten teacher, was acquitted on Tuesday of all 22 counts of child molestation she had been charged with. But not until after she lost her job at Chickamauga Elementary School, her house in Chickamauga, Ga., and amassed legal bills close to $ 500,000. Tonya Craft has sadly been separated from her children for 712 days also.

Tonya Craft trial considered to be a 'Witch hunt'

Tonya Craft supporters characterized the trial as a “witch hunt,” and legal bloggers covering the Tonya Craft trial reported that the prosecutors and judge conspired for a Tonya Craft conviction. After her exoneration, Tonya Craft appeared on the “Today” show Wednesday morning and could be featured on Larry King Live Wednesday night.

Tonya Craft on ‘Today’

Tonya Craft's verdict kept her from getting sentenced to 400 years in prison. But her legal costs may leave her in need of a installment payday loans. That is one reason she told NBC's "Today" when she appeared on Wednesday. “There’s nobody that wins in this situation. My whole heart has been taken, and I got half of it back.” Craft told host Meredith Vieira she was hopeful the truth would come out, but was “scared to death” it wouldn’t. She also described watching her own daughter testify against her in court.

“That was the absolute hardest thing I’ve ever experienced, because my job as a mother is to protect her,” Craft said. “There clearly was no anger towards her. It absolutely broke my heart to see that my daughter had been quite much indoctrinated to believe things that weren’t true.”

Tonya Craft and misconduct at the trial

Following the Tonya Craft verdict, Demosthenes Lorandos, Craft's attorney, told The Associated Press that he and Craft’s other attorneys contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. attorney’s office about what he called the “fraudulent” behavior of Judge Brian House and also the Catoosa County district attorney’s office during the case.

Local media circus

The Tonya Craft trial commenced April 13. The proceedings are a local media circus. Local TV news programs branded the case with tag lines and logos. Breathless anchors popped up on the screen throughout the day with the promise of "graphic testimony." The "Tonya Craft Trial" on News Channel 9 and "Tonya Craft: Teacher on Trial" on "WCRB — News you are able to count on," competed for many ratings and website hits with constant updates on all the sordid details.

Conspiracy against Tonya Craft?

Judicial misconduct was suggested by questionable behavior exhibited by players within the Tonya Craft trial. As outlined by Cato-at-liberty.org, the judge sitting on the case represented the defendant's husband in their divorce. Defense attorneys asked the judge to step down but he refused. Blogger William Anderson says that with the trial pending, the prosecutor, Len Gregor, wrote status updates on Facebook that included comments by witnesses. Anderson wrote to the defendant after the Tonya Craft verdict:

What was done to you was criminal: no other word will suffice. Indeed, if you would like to know where the REAL conspiracy was centered, it was in that courtroom, as a judge and his two henchmen conspired time and again to deprive you of your civil rights to a fair trial. Let me be a lot more specific. House (the judge), Arnt, and Gregor (the prosecutors) weren’t guilty of overzealousness or even bad judgment. What they did was much, much worse because they teamed up to keep much of the evidence that would have exonerated you out of the courtroom. They harassed your witnesses and then called your four expert witnesses, who are well-respected in their fields (to put it mildly), “whores” and liars.

Not Guilty on all 22 counts – Tonya Craft verdict

Tonya Craft, arrested in June 2008, was accused of molesting three girls in her home between August 2005 and May 2007. After a five week trial, a jury started debating her case on Monday afternoon. Tuesday she was found not guilty of all 22 counts including, child molestation, aggravated child molestation, and sexual battery. Craft’s chief attorney, Dr. Demosthenes Lorandos, said on the “Today” show that his client had been receiving death threats, and he hurried her out of the courtroom following the Tonya Craft verdict.

Citations

“Today” show Wednesday morning

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37103788/ns/today-today_people/

The Associated Press

http://www.ap.org/

Blogger William Anderson

http://williamlanderson.blogspot.com/search/label/Tonya%20Craft

Is The Flat Belly Diet A Miraculous Cure For Flab?

Dieting is possibly now more popular than the Beatles. Fad diets spring up all the time, like the South Beach Diet, the We Can’t Believe You Were Gullible Enough to Purchase This Stuff Diet, and now the Flat Belly Diet. There is no Northwest Passage when it comes to weight loss, and also the Flat Belly Diet is no exception. However, it uses common sense and some really solid science. You won’t have to get installment loan for TV dinners, either.

Flat Belly Diet uses Mediterranean Diet

, and doctors are the experts on the human body. The diet claims to burn off 15 pounds in 32 days. The first four days are an initiation period intended to cut down on bloating and mentally adjust individuals to healthier eating. Dieters are designed to drink 2 liters a day of Sassy Water during this phase.

Monounsaturated fats

As fate would have it, Cynthia Sass, inventor of Sassy Water, is a co-author of the Flat Belly Diet book, along with Liz Vaccariello. The key to the 1,600 calories a day Flat Belly Diet is a compound called Monounsaturated Fat. MUFAs, as they're called, are known to help reduce levels of low density lipoproteins (that's the bad cholesterol) and potentially boost High Density Lipoprotein (the good kind).

There is healthy good stuff in it

The diet itself has an eating plan, a cookbook, you name it. You eat four portion-controlled, small meals per day, each of which includes a MUFA ingredient. You stick to healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. You’re also encouraged to serve yourself a side of regular exercise.

What the doctors said

WebMD won’t be recommending it to Stockholm, though they didn’t hate it. The review said that there were very good things about the Flat Belly Diet, but some misleading things. They point out the 15 pounds will probably be water weight, in that a person would have to burn over 1,600 calories a day to lose the claimed 15 pounds in that time. They affirm that good weight loss, about a pound or two a week, is slow and steady and reminded individuals to remember SED – Strength training, Exercise, and proper Diet. There may be no Northwest Passage to weight loss.

Sources

WebMD

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/flat-belly-diet

Flat Belly Diet

http://flatbellydiet.prevention.com/default.asp?sname=DefaultOffer&mktSSOfferId=FBD24716&mktBKOfferId=PVN24251

Monounsaturated Fat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monounsaturated_fat

Getting A Good Vehicle Deal At Auction

Being within the market for a used automobile means looking into car auction as well. A vehicle auction could be very intimidating, however they can also present great deals. What's the best way to get a deal at a auto auction?

One of the most basic parts of automobile auctions

Car auctions usually happen at the same time or place as other auctions. The highest bidder simply gets the car. If you buy a automobile at auction, you probably won't get a written or implied warranty. The cars generally offered at auction fall into one of three categories. Auction sites can have cars offered by private owners. Second are the surplus autos — cars that state or federal government agencies have replaced and no longer need. Finally, cars that are impounded or repossessed are usually sold to pay back credit agencies. Car auctions are held in one of two ways – online or in person.

In-person car auction buying

In-person car auctions have numerous benefits over other types. An hour or so before the auction begins, you are able to take a very close check out the car you may be buying during the "viewing" time. If you want to go to an auction, keep a close eye on newspaper listings or Craigslist. Register for a bidding number at the auction, and make sure you have vehicle financing ready to go. If you've got a mobile phone, use a AutoCheck or Carfax app to get a basic report on cars you're looking at . You will be expected to pay for any bid you win right away. Licensing data and the car title are typically provided whenever you pay for the car. You'll also have between 2 and 24 hours to take the automobile from the auction site.

Auctioning cars online

Online auctions have some things that make them comparable to in-person auctions. You may have to register to bid on the car, and it will still usually be sold in as-is condition. However, online automobile auctions do not usually give you the chance to have a look at the automobile before you buy it. If you are dealing with an auction site like eBay, you might be able to ask the sellers specific questions or ask them to take certain pictures of the car. Online auctions are used to auction off government surplus as well. You can’t really take a look at the car on auction sites like this. You can still get good deals, but beware of any tip-off words such as “needs work” or “mechanics’ special.”

FluidNow Nevertheless Have Cyber Squatter Spoofing For A Quick Payday

When you enter the URL for FluidNow, you reasonably expect that your browser will take you to that exact site, rather than to an alternate site that threatens to create a quick payday for a cyber squatter by siphoning off your cash or infecting your computer with malware that could capture your credit card number. Sadly for those unemployed in Florida, a cyber squatter has been taking advantage of those who mistype the URL for FluidNow which is Florida Unemployment Internet Direct. Something as simple as typing “wwwfluidnow.com” instead of “www.fluidnow.com” has been placing some Floridians seeking unemployment benefits on a harmful site that will charge consumers to access their unemployment funds. This has been going on for a couple of months, according to WalletPop, and spoofing of FluidNow remains a problem.

FluidNow scam – one more thing Florida doesn’t need

The continuing FluidNow difficulties could not have come at a worse time. According to the U.S. Department of Labor and the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, the rate of unemployment in Florida is higher than average, two to three percent above the national average. As this recession continues on, unemployment is still staying high. Those in need who want to visit www.fluidnow.com (which redirects to www.floridajobs.org), but those who mistype the address are nevertheless being taken by the wwwfluidnow.com scam. Hence, Florida officials urge their state’s unemployed to use www.floridajobs.org to keep away from any possible trouble.

Use the site www.floridajobs.org and call the Florida Attorney General

If you or someone that you may know is an unemployed Floridian who has gotten tangled within the FluidNow spoofing, you are urged to contact the Florida Attorney General at (866) 966-7226 or file a claim at http://myfloridalegal.com/.

Www.fluidnow.com is based in Australia

That should be the first sign that something is amiss. A Whois lookup confirms the spoofing site doesn’t even originate within the United States, let alone Florida. Cyber squatting and spoofing that take advantage of simple typos aren’t new phenomena, yet people still fall prey to their deception. Have a look at the WalletPop FluidNow article for some screenshots of how the site should appear to you vs. the impostor, and keep in mind that you would never have to pay an additional fee to claim your unemployment benefits in any state. Any cash til payday loan should belong to you, not a criminal.

Citations

spoofing of FluidNow remains a problem

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/05/03/fluidnow-typo-costs-florida-unemployment-filers/

www.floridajobs.org

http://www.floridajobs.org/

Car – Toyota Hydrogen Fuel Cell By 2015?

Just a couple of years ago, most car-industry estimates were that a hydrogen-powered vehicle would cost $ 1 million or more. Toyota motors say they can offer a $50,000 MSRP hydrogen automobile as early as 2015. How is it that Toyota can cut the price so it is only 5% of the original estimate? Even if the car's value does drop that much, does it even make economic sense?

Autos with Hydrogen Fuel Cells

For many years, Hydrogen fuel cell cars are under research. However, many major carmakers have canceled their hydrogen fuel cell automobile programs. In general, hydrogen fuel cell electric cars convert hydrogen to electric power, which drives an engine. Because hydrogen fuel cells require platinum, they tend to be very expensive to produce.

Hydrogen car by Toyota

The automobile that by Toyota powered with hydrogen should be on the market by 2015. Although it would be the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle on the market, it wouldn't be the first HFCV on the road. In LA, the Honda FCX could be only leased. Toyota explains the hydrogen fuel cell car they have can have a range like gas engines. The 95% drop in price will come from better manufacturing processes and from reducing the amount of platinum needed by two-thirds.

Infrastructure questions for Hydrogen fuel cell automobiles

The largest challenge to hydrogen fuel cell automobiles is the lack of infrastructure. Most carmakers have decided to invest resources in electric autos for the little fact that a recharging or refueling infrastructure is going to be much a lot more accessible. Fossil fuel is also what makes hydrogen. Fossil fuel is the least costly way of getting hydrogen although you will find other ways. Toyota and Honda are the only carmakers that are continuing research into mass-market HFCV’s. A hydrogen infrastructure would have to look much like a petroleum fuel infrastructure, with fueling stations that are around the country.

Article Resources

Wired.com

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/05/toyota-50000-fuel-cell-vehicle/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed: wired/index (Wired: Index 3 (Top Stories 2))

Edmunds Blog

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/05/toyota-fuel-cell-vehicle-costs-to-fall-95-between-2005-and-2015-executive-says.html

Tulsa Public Schools Give The Axe To 286 Teachers

Public school systems across the United States are in financial trouble – witness the school in Rhode Island that recently fired all of its teachers – and now Tulsa Public Schools are part of the disappearing spending budget act. According to the Tulsa World, 286 teachers (225 first-year teachers) working for Tulsa Public Schools will not be tendered new contracts, but notices of non-renewal. That amounts to around 10 percent of Tulsa Public Schools faculty. And this comes after they’d already let 125 staff members go. These were good employees, not under performing driftwood. Good teachers shouldn’t be sent away.

Tulsa Public Schools supposedly will try to bring back half

The Tulsa Public Schools administration would like to bring back half of the dismissed. But as the World states, that will depend a great deal upon the Oklahoma legislature. Without that, letting the teachers back in simply won’t happen. The teachers will find themselves in need of the short term loans if things continue to go south.

Saving millions, losing a generation

The numbers tell a somber tale – the system is saving $9.7 million after the teaching cuts, $5.75 million on office staff cuts – but the true sorrow is within the story of human casualties. Teachers can have to pick up the pieces and make an effort to steer their own families in a financial boat with a broken rudder; similarly, the kids can have to make an effort to learn while being stuffed into leftover classrooms like sardines. Tulsa Public Schools Director of Human Capital Roberta Ellis delivered the token lament about how it’s tough for teachers, but then trashed any notion of true caring by mouthing the common diatribe that budgets are tough for schools. One wonders how much personal salary Roberta Ellis or any top-level administrator at Tulsa Public Schools sacrificed in order to make sure fewer teachers had to lose their jobs. Regardless, the cuts nevertheless seem to hit the people on the bottom rung first.

Baby boomers talk the talk but don’t retire to conserve jobs for the young

Tulsa Public Schools did offer early retirement packages that involved paid health insurance, but only a small percentage of the holdover baby boomers took the escape. Cash bonuses for early retirement had been offered before, but the older teachers largely balked. In total, those few who accepted weren’t enough to keep good young teachers in their jobs.

Fallout of the layoff explosion

The principal of Eugene Field school within the Tulsa Public Schools system is quoted the World as saying that some of the teachers who were let go had just bought new homes. One is a single mother. While some would play the world’s tiniest violin over that image, others might say that it is infinitely more sorrowful to view administrators go on paid retreats and make golf arrangements. Children who don’t drown in a sea of inefficiency at Tulsa Public Schools will hopefully learn that being a mediocre administrator may be the norm, but that it simply is not OK to settle for that kind of ineptitude.

Resources for the article

Tulsa World

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=332&articleid=20100513_19_0_TulsaP94353

Box Office Set To Be Pillaged By New Robin Hood

The new Robin Hood film, starring Russell Crowe and helmed by Ridley Scott, will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It will open on May 14 within the United States and seems to be poised as late spring action blockbuster. How well this Robin Hood will do at the box office remains to be seen. In a grand trick of irony, should this Robin Hood gross many no faxing payday loans from ticket sales, it will actually be taking from the commoners and giving the money to the rich studio heads and actors.

New Robin Hood has a different take

The Ridley Scott version of Robin Hood retreads many the very same ground. Robin returns from the 3rd Crusade, having fought for Richard the Lionheart, and finds King John and also the Sheriff of Nottingham terrorizing the populace. Robin rebels, and with the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest fights the evil king off, robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. The new version looks action packed, and tries to be more accurate to the time period.

Cannes Premiere

The Cannes Film Festival can be the pictures’ premiere. That said, director Ridley Scott won't be attending. According to USA Today, he recently had knee surgery and hasn’t recovered enough to travel. Thus, the cast must traverse the red carpet sans their director. The relationship between Scott and Crowe has been fruitful, as this was their fifth film together.

There never was an actual Robin Hood

The movies are fun, and outlaws that rebel within the name of justice and fairness against evil governments are wonderful stories, but there is no evidence for an actual Robin Hood. Then again, none of the famous American robbers gave to the poor either. Also, King Richard spent little time in England, ruling mostly from France. In fact, he barely spoke a word of English. The rebellion against King John actually was for the benefit of the nobles, not the commoners. Nevertheless, the result of that rebellion, the Magna Carta, was a step in the right direction.

Article resources

USA Today

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/05/robin-hood-director-to-miss-cannes-opening/1

A Very Limited Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day 2010

For years, fans of Dunkin Donuts have looked forward to free iced coffee, and numerous were anxious about Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day 2010. The Dunkin Donuts Facebook page today lit up with comments, most of them negative. Dunkin Donuts coffee only costs a couple of bucks – less than installment loan– but many individuals are nevertheless asking "why wasn't it free"?

Where you can get Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee?

The Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day 2010 hasn’t been entirely canceled. But Dunkin Donuts is offering a free small iced coffee in only 13 U.S. cities. Those lucky cities are:

• Baltimore, Maryland
• Charlottesville, Virginia
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Norfolk, Virginia
• Washington, DC
• Youngstown, Ohio
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Richmond, Virginia
• Roanoke, Virginia
• Salisbury, Maryland
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Phoenix, Arizona

Why is Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day 2010 so limited?

Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day 2010 was originally a national event. The official comment from the company is that “As part of our 60th birthday celebration, Dunkin' Donuts is offering a variety of regional promotions throughout the year instead of a national Free Iced Coffee Day .”

The true story is more complicated. The company that owns Dunkin Donuts has lost value over the last year. With stronger competition, and customers cutting back, Dunkin Donuts is facing hard times.

Make it your own Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day 2010

If you absolutely need your hit of Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day 2010, or if you want to give iced coffee a try, you’ve got two choices. First, you could sign up for the Dunkin’ Perks online program, which will get you a free drink coupon in exchange for a variety of personal details. You can also just make your own iced coffee. For a Dunkin Donuts taste-alike coffee, just mix two shots of espresso with water, ice, and a tablespoon or so of sweetened, condensed milk. You may have to spend a few cents, but it's less than getting coffee, and it's still just like Dunkin Donuts iced coffee.

Sources:

Forbes.com

http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/CIAtAGlancelw.jsp?passName=AED&passSymbol=AED&isOut=null&sedol=

Dunkin Donuts

https://www.dunkindonuts.com/icedcoffeedaymarkets.aspx

Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/new-economy/2010/0511/Not-so-free-iced-coffee-day-at-Dunkin-Donuts

And also the Winner Of The Ford Apps Competition Is – Caravan Track

In October of 2009, Ford Motor Business, the University of Michigan and Intel created American Journey 2.0 – a competition to create Ford Apps. Journey 2.0 spawned “Cloud Computing within the Commute” a class and competition between students to create a new social-networking application for use in Ford research automobiles. The winner of this competition class was Caravan Track – an application that can be used within the Ford Fiesta research automobile.

What is Caravan Track

The winner of the “Cloud Computing in the Commute” course and competition is an application called Caravan Track. Caravan Track is a social network / internet / wifi application that helps members of a caravan keep track of one another. Caravan Track monitors the position, fuel level, road hazards and a lot more of all automobiles on a trip together. Caravan Track will even inform the entire caravan of restaurants, rest areas and other stop-over points of interest. Touchscreen messages eliminate the need to type when on the road.

Five other Ford App Competition entries

There were six teams within the competition to create the best Ford American Journey 2.0 application. Despite the fact that Caravan Track won the title, all five of the other applications have good promise. By using Facebook to match potential carpoolers together, GreenRide Challenge aims to cut back total trip miles. By allowing self-reported road hazards with one-touch systems, NostraMap creates real-time maps of areas to avoid. An application called Fuel Tracker is able to give feedback to drivers about the best mileage routes between two points. Intended to build a database of interests over time, Point-of-Interest provides details on restaurants, companies, and other locations that a driver may be interested in visiting. “Listen. Speak. Rate. Share.” is an app built to provide and share audio reviews for points of interest along a driver’s route.

Ford Fiesta with Caravan Track

A specially-designed Ford Fiesta is going to be loaded up with Caravan Track and other experimental programs, then it will head out for Silicon Valley. On May 14, this “research Fiesta” can be beginning a road trip to the annual Maker Faire and will attempt to social network the entire trip. Makers of Caravan Track and the other competitors within the U of M class will probably watch this trip very closely.

Resources for this article:

Edmunds Blog

http://blogs.edmunds.com/strategies/2010/05/with-help-from-ford-students-create-the-future-of-in-car-cloud-computing.html

The Knot Adds Stock Earnings To Wedding Plans

The Knot is one of the web’s biggest wedding destinations. Though The Knot specializes in special days, it has an announcement of its own that could be considered pretty big. Major stock rating agencies have upgraded The Knot stock to a “buy”. So should you consist of purchase of The Knot stock as a part of your cash til payday loan wedding plan? Maybe, maybe knot.

How The Knot works

The Knot is a publicly held media business. The Knot owns The Knot magazine and site, which are targeted toward engaged couples and newlyweds. The Knot also operates The Nest, a new parents magazine. The Knot also owns and operates a gift-registration service called Gift Registry 360. The Knot TV is also in development as a channel or series of shows based upon around new families, engagements, and weddings.

Financial standing of The Knot

The financial balance sheet of The Knot is quite large. The advertising alone on The Knot brings in $ 14 million each quarter. In the last year or so, operating expenditures have sat around $ 21 million. The gross profit margin is about 78.8 percent for The Knot. Essentially, The Knot has been doing quite well. In February, The Knot stock price dropped by about 25%. At the moment, The Knot stock price is about $ 8 a share.

Has The Knot been put in knots?

Some might think the Knot has limited itself by targeting weddings and new families. The truth is, though, that weddings in general are very large business. The average wedding in The United States runs about $ 25,000 to $ 30,000. Because this is such a big business, The Knot can pull in very large advertising dollars. At the same time, The Knot is expanding both the type and focus of its media offerings. Because they’re gaining popularity, The Knot has also been focusing a lot more on low-budget, offbeat style weddings. You may love The Knot or hate it, but as a business, seems like to be doing very well.

Charlie Crist Leaves GOP And Runs As An Independent

Charlie Crist has dropped out of the Republican Party to run as an independent for the U.S. Senate. If everyone were really in a rush to get no faxing payday loan to fill his opponents’ coffers they already have, as not a soul was surprised. (Maybe they will?) Crist has a long service record in Florida, and he is fairly popular there.

Charlie Crist and also the Republicans have broken up

In the wake of the Charlie Crist announcement, some Republicans are insisting he give any campaign funds he received when a Republican back to the party. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) made pleas within the press for Crist to return any funds from the PAC (Political Action Committee) which were given for his potential Senate campaign, and any requested funds back to donors, as outlined by USA Today.

Independent is a gamble

Running independently can backfire. Name recognition is the biggest asset Charlie Crist has, as outlined by the New York Times. He’s already well known to Floridians, whereas the other two candidates don’t have his lengthy record or popularity. His Republican opponent, Marco Rubio, has popularity among tea party types, but is thought to be a bit moderate for their taste. He also allegedly used party funds for personal expenses. (Misuse of funds by a Tea Party person? That could not happen!)

Independents do not always fare too well

Independent candidates don’t have the best track record historically. You will find two current independent Senators, Bernie Sanders and Joe Liberman. There are only 3 independent governors ever (Jesse Ventura ran with a party and doesn’t count) and one President. (There was no party affiliation of George Washington.) History doesn’t side with independents. However, branding does – and that’s what Charlie Crist has. This can be worth watching.

Resources for the article

USA Today

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2010/04/cornyn-to-crist-give-back-gop-campaign-cash-/1

New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/us/politics/29cristcaucus.html

Pink Dress Student Geisy Arruda: Get Expelled, Get Famous

Brazilian Geisy Arruda was expelled from university because she either wore a form-fitting dress or too short a skirt, and also the whole affair made the student body want to holler. In Brazil – the land of Carnival and nude beaches – such a response to somewhat revealing clothing on a college campus has largely been panned. Across Brazil, the media and populace are wondering why the university took such severe action.

Pink dress student is a natural Brazilian

Brazil and sexual prudishness simply don’t go together. Despite the fact that the standard of living for much of the population is low and crime is ever-present, individuals who have more sex and are less embarrassed by it are happier. Pink dress student Geisy Arruda, 20, is certainly walking away happy, as the media is watching her each and every move. A mere six months after she was suspended, says Gather, pink dress student Geisy Arruda is well on her way to developing her own media empire with photo shoots, enhancement surgery, TV gigs and an upcoming clothing brand.

Gather calling out pink dress student is the pot calling the kettle black

It is completely disingenuous of a blog like Gather to take a position of wondering why someone like pink dress student Geisy Arruda can become a celebrity for something as silly as being expelled from college – and it is silly, because none of the stories about the incident mention that she was attending a private religious college or that she flashed private parts. The Gather blogger fails to admit that their blog is a part of the star-making media that revels in sex, bad behavior and salaciousness. They drool over the sex tapes of Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton; swoon over the women in Tiger and Jesse’s lives; wonder at just how numerous children Jon and Kate, Octomom and the Duggars can pump out; and happily chastise Dr. Jack Kevorkian while covering his each move. All pink dress student Geisy Arruda did was walk through the world and show off her body just a little. She might make a lot more money off self-p! romotion than most people, which prompts some to question whether it is fair that the media allows that to happen. Maybe it isn’t. But who said life was all communism and puppy dog tails?

Does being a celebrity mean what it used to?

Looking at the pink dress student matter from a different angle, Gather does make one good point. Once upon a time, talent was the key ingredient in fame. Looking good did grease the wheels, but you had to have something additional. Now individuals can become famous by looking good have having a talent for self-promotion. Self-promotion is a talent in itself, so clearly it isn’t all about looks. So Gather is wrong when they claim that “a huge rack” is all one needs. The fame of the one-dimensional is fleeting. Face it, individuals like Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Tila Tequila have more than looks – they’re expert self-promoters who know how to play the marketing game. They might not ring your bell, but somewhere, somebody’s ears are ringing. Pink dress student Geisy Arruda may or may not have the “it” factor, but so far seems like that she’s making waves.

Sources

Gather

http://entertainment.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978206281

Recall On Childrens Medicine 2010 - Tylenol, Motrin Included

The FDA-backed, company-announced recall on children’s medicine 2010 has been issued. Tylenol, Motrin, and Benadryl are all involved in the recall on children’s medicine 2010. If you report your recalled medicine to the business, you are able to get a no fax payday loans no credit check in the form of a coupon or refund. No matter what you do, the FDA and also the childrens medicine manufacturer both suggest you discontinue use of these medicines.

Issues with the childrens medicine 2010 recall

The recall on children’s medicine 2010 was initiated by the maker of the medicine, McNeil Consumer Healthcare. There are three major reasons for the announced recall on children’s medicine 2010. One of the most significant reason for the recall is the concentration of the active ingredient is higher than what is on the label. There is also a concern that inactive ingredients in the medicine may not meet “internal standards for quality”. There may also be very small particles within the medicines incorporated in the recall on children’s medicine 2010.

Recall on children’s medicine 2010 – the incorporated products

Seven individual products are involved in the recall on children’s medicine 2010, each one with several flavors. These products consist of a variety of flavors of:

• Tylenol Infants’ Drops
• Children’s Tylenol liquid
• Children’s Tylenol Plus liquid
• Motrin Infant’s Drops
• Children’s Motrin liquid
• Children’s Zyrtec liquids
• Children’s Benadryl Allergy liquids

A full list of the products included in this recall is accessible on the FDA Children’s medicine recall 2010 announcement website. This recall does include medicines in twelve countries – including Canada and the United States. If you are in a country other than the United States, you need to check with that country’s pharmaceutical safety agency for recall processes.

Recall on children’s medicine 2010 continues Tylenol problems

This recall on children’s medicine 2010 is the second time Tylenol has been recalled this year. A recall of Children’s Tylenol pills and chews was instituted in January of 2010. Confusing dosage instructions on the package was the reason for that January Tylenol recall. McNeilProductRecall.com has full info on the recall on children’s medicine 2010. With the number of recent recalls, McNeil healthcare has assured the FDA it will “undertake a comprensive review” of the processes used to manufacture the medicines they sell.

Sources for the article

FDA Children’s medicine recall 2010 announcement

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm210443.htm

McNeilProductRecall.com

http://www.mcneilproductrecall.com/

UVA Lacrosse Death Darkens Mood Of Campus

With graduation just weeks away, the exploding tragedy of the UVA Lacrosse death has leveled the happy dreams of many toward a most somber ground. Women’s Lacrosse standout Yeardley Love, 22, was a much loved daughter, friend, lacrosse player and student, according to CBS News. The young woman was a key player on a UVA Lacrosse team that appeared headed for a national title, but regrettably she did not live to see the fruits of her team’s labor. Police officers discovered the body of Yeardley Love in her apartment and presently have a prime suspect in their custody. Rumors had been spoken of the possibility of excessive alcohol consumption having caused Yeardley Love’s death, but further investigation has shifted more toward head trauma.

George Huguely is the suspect within the UVA Lacrosse death

Police have named UVA Men’s Lacrosse player George Huguely as the UVA Lacrosse death primary suspect. He has been hit with the charge of first-degree murder. Virginia police will release further details on the investigation once key elements of their research are complete. Yeardley Love’s body is still at the autopsy stage, while police plan to question George Huguely’s friends and teammates.

George Huguely has been a model of cooperation

Just how cooperative he’s been is not yet clear, but you will find indications that Huguely may realize he’s made a terrible mistake and is owning up. How different is that from the usual murder stories within the news – is he even using a lawyer?

Yeardley Love inspired love in many

Craig Littlepage, UVA’s athletic director, told CBS News that Love was a fine example who inspired others to be their best. He proudly exclaimed that she was almost considered angelic by every person she met. John Casteen, the president of the University of Virginia, wrote on the university website that the UVA Lacrosse death had cast a dark pall over the entire community. Yeardley Love was a humble star in all aspects of her life on the University of Virginia campus. “She deserves to be remembered for her human goodness, her capacity for future greatness,” exclaimed a clearly emotional Casteen.

George Huguely also appeared to be a standout young man

According to CBS News, Huguely was an All-American who starred in both lacrosse and football at Landon School in Bethesda, MD. Huguely co-captained his high school’s lacrosse team. Numerous media reports indicate that an act of violence like the one that may have caused the death of Yeardley Love would be outside George Huguely’s normal character. As the investigation continues on, the sordid information will become a lot more clear.

Sources for the article

UVA Lacrosse death

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20004073-504083.html